Asia / Pacific

12/01/1998

Asia/Pacific

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Hsinchu; Royal Philips Electronics, the Netherlands; and EDB Investments, Singapore, have formed a joint venture to build a wafer fabrication facility in Singapore`s Pasir Ris Wafer Fab Park. Valued at $1.2 billion, the facility is expected to begin production in late 2000, reaching full production capacity in 2003. Philips will be the largest shareholder with 48%; TSMC will hold 32%; EDB will hold 20%.

Taiwan`s Tatung Co. is planning to build a 200-mm fab capable of ultimately producing 25,000 wafers/month. According to a report by Trade Winds, Tatung`s general manager W.S. Lin said the company will spend $900 million to build the fab, and is expecting to bring in $5.88 billion in revenues in two to three years after the plant is in full operation.

South Korea`s Samsung has shipped its first fully functional 1-Gbit SDRAM samples to Compaq, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM, and said the new device will be available commercially around 2000 and be in full production in 2005.

United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) is putting on hold its fab plans in Taiwan`s Tainan industrial park. The $15 billion plan was to build a series of fabs, including a 200-mm fab for its United Semiconductor Corp. joint venture.